important

Since mid-October, you have probably been wondering: Balloon Boy's parents Richard and Mayumi Heene, what ever happened to them? Are they rich and famous yet? Answer: no.

Well, in fact, their sentencing is today, and they could wind up the exact opposite of rich and famous: fined $46,000, and in jail.

(more...)

Now that the the jig is up for Richard Heene and his puffed-up scheme to get famous with his balloon hoax, the Colorado man has been left looking rather desperate and crazy. For most, his stunt to gain attention (and possibly a TV contract), which put his entire family through a great deal of stress, was abominable and exploitative. (more...)

The story of "Balloon Boy" Falcon Heene has become the newest national joke, the "I'ma let you finish" du jour. While there are humorous elements to the story, the media seems to be ignoring the darkest chapter in this story, and their (our) complicity in it. Recently, The Rachel Maddow Show and Countdown have each run lighthearted, humorous segments specifically about Falcon Heene's bout with nausea on NBC's Today Show. While they're surely not the only ones to make light of this, they are the straws that broke the camel's back. Here are the clips from Countdown and The Rachel Maddow Show:

We contacted MSNBC about both segments, and they declined to comment. Those morning show appearances have been weighing on me. While I'm disappointed in Olbermann and Maddow, two people who do 99% excellent work, they are not alone here. We all sat by and watched that 6 year-old become violently ill on The Today Show and Good Morning America. We know for a fact, now, that the child's father was making him lie, and it's likely what made Falcon sick that morning. The problem is, we all pretty much knew it at the time, too. Falcon Heene did a courageous thing by telling the truth on national television, and his reward was to be ignored. Wolf Blitzer fumbled the follow-up, and the authorities dithered, still believing Richard Heene's lies. While our own Dan Abrams theorizes that the Sheriff's ignorance may have been strategic, that would have been a strategy that didn't benefit the child. Falcon Heene went to sleep that night knowing that he wasn't believed.
Falcon's confession could not have been clearer, yet for some reason, the media continued to treat the idea of a hoax as an open question, a 50/50 shot. The following morning, Richard Heene went on TV and fed his son a lie for him to agree to, after who knows what kind of coercion. Why did these interviewers not press Heene on the details of a story that clearly did not add up? Why didn't they call him out? Most importantly, why did they continue these interviews while the child was in obvious physical distress? The fact that his parents didn't have the decency to do this is little excuse when you consider their part in Falcon's situation. Next: Further media wrongdoing on GMA and Today

video Bill O'Reilly's status as top cable news host probably helped him land one of the last exclusives left in the whole Balloon Boy saga - with Larimer County, CO Sheriff Jim Aldernen. With Aldernen's slow action in declaring this a criminal case, O'Reilly had some material to work with. And he channeled 'the folks' for his questions. (more...)

video On Friday, hours after the Heene family had appeared on a succession of morning talk shows to repeatedly state that Thursday's Balloon Boy adventures had not in fact been a hoax, Business Insider announced that they had "alleged proof" that the story was a hoax after being contacted by a "Denver-area student who claims to have worked with Falcon's father, Richard Heene, on a reality show proposal for ABC." Money quote (literally): (more...)

Late yesterday, Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden told reporters that he expects to file criminal charges in the case of 6 year-old "Balloon Boy" Falcon Heene's non-ride on a runaway helium balloon. He also said that his office was trying to obtain search warrants, and expressed disappointment that they could only file class 3 misdemeanor charges. (more...)

We've been watching the Balloon Boy saga unfold in its fourth day of media coverage. The latest news: The balloon was indeed a hoax, and now Richard Heene, if not his wife Mayumi, will face a battery of charges. Below: Larimer County Colorado Sheriff Jim Alderden's comments from this afternoon's press conference, and his comments last night. Plus, information about Gawker's exclusive, and all the news from Day 4. Updates here as more news breaks. (Update 1pmET): • Press Conference this afternoon (video below): Larimer County Colorado Sheriff Jim Alderden: "It has been determined that this was a hoax, that it was a publicity stunt ... done with the hopes of better marketing themselves for a reality show in the future." (more...)

VIDEO Richard Heene, the father of the infamous Balloon Boy, called reporters to his house this morning for a press conference of sorts. The man who has had the media, and frankly everyone on the Internet atwitter, made it seem like a big announcement was in the works. (more...)

video As expected, Balloon Boy's comment on CNN's Larry King Live last night ("we did this for a show") has caused a media frenzy - although not nearly as much of a frenzy as the whole Balloon incident that started this thing. The parents of six-year-old Falcon Heene thought it would be a good idea to go on the full morning show circuit, but to prove just how good an idea it really was, Balloon Boy puked live on air during two interviews. (more...)